The Angels are not competitive. They are not a great baseball team. That much is certain now. So is it so wrong for a fan, knowing that the playoffs will remain a distant mirage for at least one more season, to root for the team to lose?

I mean, the game was decent for the first 7 innings, and there were some things to like for forward-looking Halo fans. Garrett Richards continued to solidify his hold on a possible rotation spot for next season, tossing 6 decent innings against the Rangers. Young outfielders Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout clobbered back-to-back home runs off of Rangers ace Yu Darvish to start off the game. Newly acquired infielder Grant Green got his first two major league hits in tonight's contest.

Heck, the score even remained tied until the eighth inning. But right on cue, the bullpen proceeded to cough up 5 runs in the last two frames to seal yet another late loss.

But, let's look on the bright side, folks. With another loss, the Angels solidified their slot in the Top 10 of what is expected to be one of the best amateur drafts in years next season. Perhaps this season of losing, punctuated by key injuries to key players, is a blessing in disguise. If there was ever a good time to jumpstart a lousy farm system, now might be it.

So let's rock ourselves gently to sleep, shutting away the nightmare of another brutal loss to the Texas Rangers, and dream of the future and a brighter hope…